Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum (1810–1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician who became one of the most famous figures of the nineteenth century. He is best known for founding the Barnum and Bailey Circus, famously marketed as "The Greatest Show on Earth.” That’s the title of an excellent 2017 book about him. His path to fame began with the exploitation of Joice Heth, an elderly enslaved woman he falsely claimed was George Washington's 161-year-old nurse. His famous hoaxes included the Feejee Mermaid (a monkey torso sewn to a fish tail).I was reminded of Phineas when I watched Chief Roseanne Casimir testify before a Senate committee that wanted to know when exactly the T’kemlups Indian Band was going to get down to the business of trying to prove their sensational claim — made almost 5 years ago — that 215 indigenous children had died under mysterious conditions, and were then secretly buried by evil priests — with the forced help of children as young as six. Casimir was not the least bit fazed by the rather meek questioning from the senators. Why had no excavation taken place? How could she have possibly spent $12 million given to her by the federal government, to excavate with not one single shovel put in the ground?She answered coolly that, in fact, it will take decades and more millions of dollars for that to happen.Why? Let her explain herself in her own words. Here she goes:“The truth cannot be confirmed,” said Casimir. “Denialism is growing in the absence of evidence … We are honouring the children who did not come home, and to do that we need the truth … We are still working through those steps and those processes and still have much work to do,” said Casimir. She did not elaborate..“Well, I definitely see this here, it’s definitely not a one, three or five year process,” replied Casimir. “I definitely see it as a longer process that is going to take some time.”And then, her master stroke.“Holocaust investigations have continued for more than 75 years.”If any of you think that makes the slightest bit of sense, I will be eternally grateful if you will explain it to me. But one thing I did understand is that, according to Casimir, it will take many more years, and many more millions of dollars, before they can consider actually buying a shovel and actually putting it in the ground — maybe 75 years.And the senators listened to this blather very respectfully. Senator Tannas is the only senator who actually asked her serious questions. But even he didn’t hint at the fact that he knew that he was dealing with someone who could put PT Barnum to shame.But let’s get real now. Casimir told Canada — and the whole world — on May 27, 2021, that the remains of 215 indigenous children had been found. She was — and let’s not mince words — she was lying. No “remains,” “graves,” or “bodies” had been found. The only thing they had was soil anomalies detected by a thoroughly incompetent ground penetrating radar (GPR) operator. Every one of the assumptions made by that operator was subsequently proved to be false. That operator had not even taken the few minutes it would have taken to discover that other excavations that could account for the soil anomalies had previously been done on that same area. Those laughably compromised GPR readings and “stories in the community” were the only “evidence” Casimir offered to support her preposterous claims..As we all know, “stories in the community” — be they in an indigenous or any other community — can range anywhere from weather predictions to stories about alien landings, or the latest sightings of Jeffrey Epstein in the local Walmart. Simply put, “stories in the community” are not “evidence” at all.So, that’s where we are now. Senator Tannas is to be commended for at least asking the most elementary questions about the “unmarked graves” and “missing children” hysteria that has cost this country billions of dollars, and led to a virtual reshaping of the country, with genocide accusations, tribal UNDRIP legislation, and indigenous land settlements that our great-grandchildren will be trying to pay for generations from now.And Chief Casimir is smugly blowing off this meek Senate committee that dares to ask a few questions about when this might all end.Chief Casimir smiles sweetly and thinks this: “As long as you fools keep paying.”Meanwhile, as reported by Blacklock’s Reporter — Canada’s truth-teller — “Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations that funded recovery of remains in Kamloops has refused to date to release internal emails regarding the First Nation’s refusal to conduct any field work.” The department, in a 2022 briefing note, Indian Residential School Sites: Unmarked Burials, said, “Canadians deserved to know the heartbreaking truth.”
